Key changes led to Buffalo Bills flipping the script in second half of Week 1 victory over Arizona Cardinals
All-in-all, the Buffalo Bills won their first game of the season and came on strong in the second half. The defense stepped up, the run fit was better, the timely blitzes helped, and Greg Rousseau continued his emergence to start off what looks like a breakout season in the works.What went right in the second […]
All-in-all, the Buffalo Bills won their first game of the season and came on strong in the second half. The defense stepped up, the run fit was better, the timely blitzes helped, and Greg Rousseau continued his emergence to start off what looks like a breakout season in the works.
What went right in the second half? What ended up being the difference in turning the page on a disappointing first few series on defense where it looked like Arizona could do no wrong?
Maybe it was a mentality shift. Maybe it was getting back to fundamentals. The Cardinals had the ball for three long drives in the first half, resulting in a touchdown, field goal, and a touchdown before kneeling it out before halftime on their fourth drive. Coming out of the halftime break, though, things looked markedly different.
The defense was playing with much more intensity, and the way they tightened the screws on the Cardinals was impressive. Here's how the second half went for the Cardinals:
- Punt
- Fumble
- Field Goal
- Kick return touchdown
- Punt
- Turnover on downs
For an offense that compiled 190 yards of total offense in the first half, they gained only 70 yards in the second half.
Early in the game, it looked to me like the defense ends were playing more of a contain than they were trying to get after Murray, which makes sense – Murray is lethal with his legs, so you can't afford to let him break the pocket and pick up a huge chunk play.
In the second half, they certainly brought more pressure. The edges were more intent on getting to Murray, while we saw blitzes from linebacker and secondary positions regularly as well. They did this while playing plenty of dime coverage.
When it worked, it worked beautifully, but also saw the downside against a mobile quarterback. Murray was able to break the pocket in the fourth quarter on third and seven and pick up a 29 yard run. That's the downside.
However, the mentality of bringing pressure and heating up Murray to get rid of the ball, instead of allowing him to sit in the pocket and pick them apart, largely worked. It was a shift in approach and play calling that paid huge dividends as this defense looks to find its groove going forward.
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That’s definitely not what anyone wanted to see.
Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp.
